The foot-in-the-door technique is certainly one of the best-known and best-researched influence techniques. Usually only the study by Freedman and Fraser (1966) is presented in psychology textbooks.
Meanwhile, foot-in-the-door technique has been tested in many other situations. For example when it comes to begging money or to invite a woman to a date.
In recent years attempts are being made to improve the effectiveness of foot-in-the-door technology …

When someone asks us for a favor and provides a valid reason, we are more inclined to help. But in some situations it is already sufficient to present a quite dumb reason…

Manchmal kann es schwer sein, Kinder dazu zu bringen, im Schulunterricht besser aufzupassen oder für einen Test zu lernen. Forschungsergebnisse legen nahe, dass schon durch leichte Berührungen so manche nervenzerrende Diskussion verhindert werden kann.

Keywords: Psychologie – Berührung – Erziehung – Bildung – Delay of Gratification

Besprochene Studien:
Scafidi F, Field T, Schanberg SM, et al. Effects of tactile/kinesthetic  stimulation and sleep/wake behavior of preterm neonates.  Infant Behav Dev 1986;9:91-105.

Leonard JA1, Berkowitz T, Shusterman A. (2014). The effect of friendly touch on delay-of-gratification in preschool children. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2014;67(11):2123-33. doi: 10.1080/17470218.2014.907325. Epub 2014 Apr 22.

– 40 Kinder (ca. 5 Jahre)

– Die Kinder wurden gebeten den Verzehr von Süßigkeiten aufzuschieben: I’m going to hide five (candies) under this cup, and I want you to wait until I tell you to look for and eat the (candy). This time, I need to do some paperwork outside. But remember, I’d really like you to wait until I tell you to look for and eat the (candy). Okay? Half the children received a friendly touch on the back during this request (only the italicized portion). The experimenter placed the candy under one of three cups and left the participant for 10 min. If the child rang the bell, the timer was stopped, the experimenter reentered the room and asked if they were okay

a) leichte Berührung am Rücken

b) keine Berührung

– Ergebnis: die Kinder die man berührt hatte warteten durchschnittlich 2 min. 13 sec länger (8:30 min vs. 6:10 min)

Kazdin, A. & Klock, J. (1973). The effect of nonverbal teacher approval on student attentive behaviour. Jounal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 643-654.

Versuchspersonen: 12 geistig behinderte Kinder (IQ: 48-73; Alter 7-12)

– Die Lehrerin erhielt ein Training um gezielt mehr nonverbales Feedback einzusetzen (Lächeln, Hinterkopf tätscheln, Schulter klopfen, Umarmen…)

– Die Lehrerin sollte ihr Verhalten gezielt variieren (ABAB-Versuchsplan; Gesamtdauer der Studie 30 Tage)  – Das Verhalten der Lehrerin und der Kinder wurde von 5 Beobachtern erfasst

– Die Aufmerksamkeit der Kinder wurde durch folgende Variablen erfasst (ruhig sitzen, nicht mit dem Nachbarn quatschen, an der zugeteilten Aufgabe arbeiten)

Wheldall, K., Bevan, K. & Shortall, K. (1986). A touch of reinforcement: The effects of contingent teacher touch on the classroom behaviour of young children. Educational Review, 38, 207-216.

– 2 Experimente mit insgesamt 115 Schulkindern (5-6 Jahre alt)

– 4 Lehrpersonen

– Es ging nicht darum insgesamt mehr zu tätscheln, sondern kontingent zu tätscheln (d.h. immer dann wenn erwünschtes Verhalten gezeigt wurde; operantes Konditionieren…)

Gueguen, N. (2004). Nonverbal encouragement of participation in a course: The effect of touching. Social Psychology of Education,7,89-98.doi:10.1023/B:SPOE.0000010691.30834.14

– Versuchspersonen: 105 Studenten (Statistikkurs)

– Beim Lösen der Aufgaben ging der Professor durch die Reihen und lobte einzelne Studenten: “That’s good. Well done.”  Währenddessen:

a) Berührung (leichtes Tippen auf den Arm)

b) keine Berührung  Dann: “Möchte irgendjemand nach vorne kommen und die Lösung an die Tafel schreiben?”

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